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I just took this pic of the moon. With the monsoon slowly making its presence felt, we are having beautiful cloudy skies. I love playing with shutter speed where it comes to the moon. The moon looks so different on cloudy skies in different shutter speeds. Its fun to watch the transition especially with the clouds floating on top.

Shaniwarwada is an iconic building of my city….. Pune. Built in 1746, this building was the official residence of the Peshwa, the ministers of the Maratha kingdom. It is a world heritage site…… and a landmark for the city of Pune…. more details about its history here.

When I think of putting one picture to represent Pune it would be this building. A lot of stories lurk around the corners of this building. Stories of love hate betrayal. Even today it is an adventure to a small child to explore the nooks and crannies and secret passageways in this building. My favorite part of the building is without doubt the Mastani mahal. It is very easy to get lost in the beauty of this building. The building was burnt down in 1828. You still can see traces of the burn in some parts of the building. The original structure had beautiful paintings depicting the mahabharata, which were burnt down in the fire. Some traces of the painting can still be seen in some parts of the entrance or the Dilli Darwaza.

I have spent a lot of my childhood visiting the wada or building. A favorite of mine and a must visit for any tourist.

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I took this pic at Shaniwarwada, the iconic monument in Pune. If you ask me to picturise Pune in one picture it would be Shaniwarwada. This pic is taken at one of the balconies in Mastani Mahal.

Shaniwarwada was the official residence of the Peshwas, the ministers of the Maratha kingdom. Mastani was his mistress……. The love story of Peshwa Bajirao and Mastani is immortal. Devout Hindu Brahmin and powerful minister of the Maratha kingdom falls in love with the beautiful Muslim dancer and the rest is history.

Mastani’s beauty has been described as a very fair woman with translucent skin and beautiful eyes. Bajirao’s love for Mastani turned out to be the thorn in his life for which he was chastised by his entire family, his peers and the entire Maratha kingdom. Mastani too bore the brunt of the family and the Pune and she was made to live in the quarters over the main door of the wada (Building) she also had her own private entrance. This was where she would wait for her Peshwa….. yearning to meet him.

This pic is taken just at that location. From these arches you can see the entire of the Wada (Building): the gardens, what used to be the buildings, the gates and the fountains.

Studies today have shown that Mastani was infact the princess of a neighboring kingdom which the Peshwa had won over and she was infact his wife not his mistress. You can read more about it HERE.